Completely random thought
It just occurred to me how absurd our use of the phrase "as hell" is, when used to emphasize the degree to which something exhibits a certain characteristic. For example: I just heard someone say "It's charming as hell." Now, what he obviously meant was, "It is very charming." (That was clear from the way he said it... ) But, if you stop to think how charming hell might be, it's really a rather silly thing to say.
It's not so absurd to say that something is hot "as hell," or ugly "as hell," or shitty "as hell." But it is funny to me that the phrase has morphed in its usage from something that emphasizes the degree of negative traits something has, or that it has traits that might actually be attributed to "hell," to something that is a more colorful version of the word "very."
It's not so absurd to say that something is hot "as hell," or ugly "as hell," or shitty "as hell." But it is funny to me that the phrase has morphed in its usage from something that emphasizes the degree of negative traits something has, or that it has traits that might actually be attributed to "hell," to something that is a more colorful version of the word "very."